Trustees approve tenure and promotion, post-tenure review policy and modified admissions testing scores

The Tennessee State University Board of Trustees voted Friday to approve the Student and Academic Affairs Committee’s recommendations on tenure and promotion, adopt a post-tenure review policy and approve a modification of admissions testing scores. The committee had met the previous day and recommended the tenure-and-promotion packet, post-tenure policy and admissions-testing changes. Trustees moved the three items in sequence and approved each by roll-call vote. On tenure and promotion, the board approved the committee’s recommendations as presented. On the post-tenure review policy, the board adopted the policy as presented; one trustee — Trustee Young Sigler — recorded an abstention on the post-tenure vote and explained the abstention was because they had been involved in drafting the document. The board then voted to approve the modification of admissions testing scores as recommended by the Student and Academic Affairs Committee. Meeting minutes and committee materials are in the board packet. Trustees noted that the tenure-and-promotion materials included a modification that had been submitted to the secretary’s office and that the post-tenure policy had been the subject of prior committee discussion and an earlier abstention by an involved trustee. The transcript shows roll-call votes were taken and the board declared the motions passed. These actions implement routine academic governance processes: the tenure and promotion approvals add or confirm faculty ranks; the post-tenure review policy establishes or updates the institution’s procedures for reviewing tenured faculty; changes to admission testing scores adjust the thresholds used for undergraduate admissions decisions. The transcript does not provide faculty names or the numeric score thresholds; those specifics are contained in the board materials referenced during the meeting.